I Am A Barrack Boy. My Father Struggled To Pay My MSc School fees Of N26,000:00 But Today I Am KWASU Researcher Of The Year  

Awoyale Wasiu is a graduate of the prestigious Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta, and a proud son of Ibadan, Oyo State, Nigeria. He is the Ag. Head, Department of Food Science and Technology, Kwara State University Malete, Kwara State, Nigeria. In this exciting exclusive interview with ValidViewNetwork, Awoyale Wasiu shared his thoughts and the journey to becoming the First Kwara State University (KWASU) Researcher of the Year 2023 recipient among other issues. 

Can we meet you, please?   

I am Awoyale Wasiu, a graduate of Food Science & Technology (BSc., MSc., & PhD) from the Federal University of Agriculture Abeokuta, Nigeria, a mentee of Prof. Lateef Oladimeji Sanni, the current Executive Director of the Nigeria Stored Product Research Institute (NSPRI) Ilorin, Kwara State, Nigeria.  My journey to winning the KWASU Researcher of the Year started in the year 2007 when I was awarded a Postgraduate Research Fellowship to carry out my MSc research at the then Crop Utilization Laboratory but now Food and Nutrition Sciences Laboratory (FNSL) of the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) Ibadan, under the mentorship of Dr. Busie Maziya-Dixon. I am now a Certified Food Scientist of Nigeria (CFSN) and belong to three Learned Societies/Professional Associations; the Nigerian Council for Food Science and Technology (NiCFoST), the International Association of Research Scholars and Fellows (IARSAF), and the International Society for Tropical Root Crops (ISTRC). I am currently Ag. Head, Department of Food Science & Technology, Kwara State University Malete, Kwara State, Nigeria, and the First Recipient of the KWASU Researcher of the Year. 

 
What were your formative stages of life like?  

I hail from a very humble background in Ibadan, where having three square meals a day was not a right but a privilege. I started my life in the military barracks. My primary education was at Army Children School North Bank Makurdi, Benue State, and Junior Secondary School (JSS 1-3) was at Government Secondary School North Bank Makurdi, Benue State. I later joined Anwar-ul-Islam Grammar School Eleyele, Ibadan, Oyo State for the Senior Secondary School (SSS 1-3) education. After my SSS education, I was admitted into the then Ogun State Polytechnic (OGUNPOLY) Abeokuta, Ogun State, but now Moshood Abiola Polytechnic (MAPOLY) Abeokuta, for the Ordinary National Diploma (OND) Programme in Food Science & Technology. I later joined the University of Agriculture Abeokuta (UNAAB), Ogun State 2 years after my OND. Like I said earlier, I am a graduate of Food Science & Technology (BSc., MSc., & PhD) from the Federal University of Agriculture Abeokuta, Nigeria,   until the completion of my BSc degree,

I am a barrack boy. My father, a retired military man, struggled to provide for his children’s education. My mother, an Eko (cooked fermented maize starch) producer and trader, worked hard to support the family. My father struggled to pay my MSc school fees of twenty-six thousand naira (N26,000) in the year 2005 and later died during his sleep in 2006, thus, making it difficult to continue with the Postgraduate programme.  

With the death of your father and sponsor, how were you able to complete your program?

It was tough! Very tough!. During this period, I faced financial hardship. I wanted to stop the program but there came two great helpers of destiny, Prof. L.O. Sanni, and Prof. T.A. Shittu, who not only encouraged me to continue but supported me financially through the MSc and Ph.D. programmes. My heart will continue to pray for these men of honour who not only taught me how to eat fish but how to catch the fish myself. I pray they live long to eat the fruits of their labour, amen. I am humbled to have them as teachers and mentors. 

During my MSc programme I was opportune to work in the FNSL of IITA Ibadan and needed to put the soul and body together with the Five Thousand Naira (N5,000) stipend given to me as transportation fee by IITA coupled with the Eight Thousand Naira (N8,000) paid to my wife as a Secondary School teacher, to keep the family moving. I never knew that the experience gathered during my stay at IITA would be this useful. 

How would you describe the Federal University of Agriculture Abeokuta and what was your experience like? 

The Federal University of Agriculture Abeokuta then UNAAB in 1999/2000 when I got admitted into the 200 level, was a university most students from OGUNPOLY would want to attend. This is because students of UNAAB were like mini-gods . Most of the courses learned in UNAAB as a new student were the advancement of some of the courses from the OND programme. In my first 2-3 weeks in UNAAB, I was scouting with a friend in the Federal College of Education Osiele, which is another story to talk about entirely. I moved into a room apartment in Asero, a house behind the UNAAB bus terminal where students are transported to Alabata. I enjoyed the privilege but do not know if that is still available now. During that period there was a decongestion of the Camp end of UNAAB because of the available transportation that was averagely cheap, but you need to struggle to get a space inside the bus.  

I will never forget this course coded CPP201, where you need to get a land space for farming, and you are scored. I remember a day we were supposed to write and submit attendance and the attendance sheet was destroyed by Mr. Atungwu (Prof. now) because we did not leave the cashew plantation on time.The cashew plantation is where we now have the Postgraduate school and the colleges behind the Postgraduate school now.

I had a study group then comprising 80-95% female (about 33 in number), and almost all of us graduated with Second Class Upper Division with none marrying each other presently. This is because the group aimed to excel in their studies, which is not what we have today in Nigeria’s higher institutions. During my 300 level at UNAAB, I will not forget the day myself, my Class Rep and Prof. Sanni want to Osiele to mill fufu into flour, when he told us that one day cassava would give us plenty of money, not knowing that he was talking about what the future holds for me.

In our final year at UNAAB, we developed a photo album where different people answered different questions. I think some of the questions then were who your best lecturer and best mentor is. I wrote Prof. Olusola Oyewole (Former VC-FUNAAB) as my best lecturer and Prof Lateef Sanni as my mentor, and there was this question from a colleague on why I chose somebody without money and connection as my mentor, I told the person time will tell. As if I knew what the future holds for Prof. Lateef Sanni, my mentor and teacher. However, the choosing of Prof. Sanni as a mentor was not connected to him supervising my final year project.  

Would it be appropriate to say that you are striving to be like your academic father? 

YES. I am presently striving toward that direction. 

How would you describe Prof Lateef Sanni? 

Prof. Sanni is a cheerful giver, no element of religious bias and to cap it all, he is the man of his word, and who is not ready to bring anybody down to climb up. Many of his mentees will testify to this. Prof. Sanni is the man to trust, a leader and not a boss. However, he is a no-nonsense man and would not accept playing on his intelligence. He is the present Mogaji (Dynasty Head) of his family, meaning that he may be the Olubadan of Ibadan land in the future, by His grace. He is an administrator per excellence. He is a man with the magic wand with which he has consistently midwife and birthed successes in all the top academic and administrative positions he has held. Everything he touches turns to gold. Though quite unassuming, Prof. Sanni is a paragon of academic excellence. His bagful of laurels complemented by his sound administrative acumen is not only fascinating but also intimidating. His profound erudition as a reputable academic, researcher, and university administrator has placed him on such a high pedestal that his globally recognized intellectual and shining star cannot be ignored by any serious-minded and result-oriented authority. These qualities of Prof. Sanni among others have earned him national, regional, and international recognition. 

What were your research contributions that helped to prepare you for this honour?

My experience as a Research Fellow at IITA assisted me to participate in other IITA-implemented projects and programmes within and outside Nigeria, like the Common Funds for Commodities (CFC) project with funds from The Netherlands, in collaboration with the Federal Ministry of Commerce & Industry (now Trade & Investment), Abuja, Nigeria; Postharvest Consultant in the High-Quality Cassava Flour (HQCF) Value Chain Project funded by the International Funds for Agricultural Development (IFAD); IITA-Globe BiomassWeb project; Visiting Scientist/Cassava Value Chain Specialist in the Smallholder Agricultural Productivity Enhancement and Commercialization (SAPEC) Project, funded by the Africa Development Bank (AfDB) and the Global Agriculture and Food Security Program (GAFSP) of the World Bank; Postharvest Consultant of the African Development Bank (AfDB) funded Technologies for African Agricultural Transformation (TAAT), and Postharvest Consultant with the Next Generation (NextGen) Cassava Project funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and the Department for International Development of the United Kingdom. I have also won the Participatory Action Research grant 2023/2024 Funded by the Centre for Community Development, Kwara State University Malete, Kwara State; Ministry of Science, Technology, and Innovation Abuja award on standardization of food recipes and portion sizes of locally available diets 28th April 2023; the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund) Institution-Based Research (IBR) grant (2019); and now the First KWASU Researcher of the Year. 

Based on my collaborative work with colleagues at IITA and KWASU, I have published over 90 articles in peer-reviewed Journal articles, Book Chapters, and Book of Proceedings.  

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How did you emerge as KWASU Researcher of the Year

In the year 2022, there was a call for the submission of an application for the award initiated by our late Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Muhammed Mustapha Akanbi (SAN). A total of 15 applications were received. A committee headed by the former Deputy Vice-Chancellor of the University of Ilorin screened the applications based on the number of publications, research grants/awards, and global recognition within the period of the call.

At the end of the screening, I was adjudged as the KWASU Researcher of the Year 2023. This was announced on the floor of the University Senate on 17th January, 2024.

Are you also mentoring people? 

Yes, this is part of what I have learned from my teacher and mentor, so I am doing it within and outside my university (KWASU). I have supervised more than 60 undergraduate students of KWASU, and in collaboration with colleagues at IITA and KWASU, I have supervised Postgraduate students (MSc and PhD). I am also involved in counseling students (undergraduate) on how to develop themselves academically and mentoring postgraduate students on how to develop a research proposal, execute it, and write a publishable paper from the research. Most of my students can easily use statistical software like SPSS, Design-Expert, and XLSTAT among others.  

If you have an opportunity to have a chat with the President of our nation, what are the three topmost issues you will raise? 

Nigeria in recent times has recorded unprecedented security challenges such as Boko Haram Terrorists (BHTs) attacks, militancy, armed robbery, banditry, kidnapping for ransom, Fulani-Herder’s farmers clashes, Yahoo-boys, and cultism among other social vices. These vices must be uprooted. Industrialization holds the key to unleashing Nigeria’s full potential. We can strengthen our economy by investing in industries and promoting local production, which will help reduce our dependence on imports. Agriculture, specifically, shows great potential. Consequently, if I can have a chat with Nigeria’s President, the three topmost issues to raise are , Youth unemployment/ empowerment; Setting up a market price control board; and Encouraging industrialization and export using research outputs of Nigerian higher institutions.